Ghost in the Shell

[R.I.P.zoidberg-fan]

It's okay. In fact, it's better for me this way since I missed the episode on Saturday (well, technically Sunday), so I'll watch it again on Thursday (technically Friday).

[scoobdog]

No sweat man. At least this episode was pretty self explanitory...

On a down note, real sorry about you having to visit the DMV... That is a frightening place to visit, even with a wisecrackng chibi.

[Vladimir]

I should at least entertain you in the meantime with a list of the things I bought:

• The Sesshoumaru plushie.  I didn't even realize they made one until recently, and I was under the impression that they were super-rare.
• Shippo plushie.  Like I could resist.
• The last three volumes of the "Cyborg 009" manga and two from the "Ranma ½" series.
• Four Gundam SEED doushinji... three of them yaoi.  Don't tell me you didn't see that coming.
• Five anime soundtracks, including the one for "Trigun".
• The paintball derringer I mentioned earlier.  I really don't know why.
• Two non-anime related t-shirts.

That and a cheeseburger at the hotel restaurant made it a perfect day.

[MeggieMay]

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Vladimir wrote:

I should at least entertain you in the meantime with a list of the things I bought:

• The Sesshoumaru plushie.  I didn't even realize they made one until recently, and I was under the impression that they were super-rare.

  ---

OK, that thing is cute!

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• Four Gundam SEED doushinji... three of them yaoi.  Don't tell me you didn't see that coming.

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Well I'm not sure those who never venture out of the Action Folder would see it coming but I sure did (that is if you were going to buy any doushinji to begin with) .

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• Five anime soundtracks, including the one for "Trigun".

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The only time I ever see anything resembling something like that, it was at the con previous to the one I'm at, when I wasn't looking for it and/or didn't realize it was hard to find or rare ::grumble::

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That and a cheeseburger at the hotel restaurant made it a perfect day.

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The fact you found a ediable cheesburger at a convention hotel is probably the most surprising thing I've heard out of this list!

PS: I've only been to one true anime convention and it was a long time ago. However, I've done quite a few SF Media cons over the years and finding a restraunt anywhere close to the venue where it's being held that has food you can eat for a reasonable price (of course you didn't say the cheeseburger was a reasonable price but still... ) has become few and far between in the last few years

[Vladimir]

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MeggieMay wrote:

The fact you found a ediable cheesburger at a convention hotel is probably the most surprising thing I've heard out of this list!

PS: I've only been to one true anime convention and it was a long time ago. However, I've done quite a few SF Media cons over the years and finding a restraunt anywhere close to the venue where it's being held that has food you can eat for a reasonable price (of course you didn't say the cheeseburger was a reasonable price but still... ) has become few and far between in the last few years

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Well, they had burgers in the hotel lobby, but I'm willing to spend more for quality. 

I can't imagine what visitors who weren't in on it thought when they walked in the lobby.  Imagine some jobsworth from Frankfort, Kentucky walking into the lobby of this luxury hotel and seeing people with technicolor hair wielding swords and shuriken, fifteen-year-olds playing video games, people using random bits of Japanese, all while the hotel staff goes about their business and "normals" who've heard about the convention come and go.  It definitely had something of a cantina-scene-from-Star Wars feel to it.

I should have that review for you sometime tomorrow, come hell or high water.

[Vladimir]

At long last, my review.  Again, thanks for waiting all this time without threatening to chase me to the ends of the earth and set me on fire.  But let’s leave my last blind date out of this… 

• Girl, don’t tell me where I can and can’t go, awright?  You wanna eat that surgical mask?
• Duhhh, of course they’re not going to kill off Togusa.  His humanity is what keeps the series grounded.  Lose him and all you’ve got is a robotic knock-off of the Justice Team.
• “Lucky the bullets missed my head.”  Anytime’s a great time for gallows humor.
• I’m guessing here there’s some medical risk with hacking Togusa while he’s undergoing emergency medical treatment, but it’s a risk they have to take.
• I didn’t expect an emotional backflow to come with Togusa’s memories, but it makes sense considering how charged the situation was.  Note that the Major is the least visibly affected.  Also note who is most visibly affected.
• Aramaki didn’t even have to see the guns planted (which Togusa didn’t see either) to know that a cover-up is already in the works.  Can’t bullsh-t a bullsh-tter.
• And we have the requisite cleavage shot, right of center.
• The Major wisely keeps Batou in reserve, not just because of his emotional state, but because she might need back-up and she doesn’t want to play her trump card first thing.
• “Just who do you think you are?!” The master of your fate and captain of your soul.  So shut your big yapper unless you want your bank account frozen.
• “The crazy b-stards even set their own building on fire.” Naturally they burned the place and wrote it off as some last-stand Waco move to obscure any evidence (ballistics, prints, etc.) that might give the lie to their story.
• Don’t you just love veiled threats?
• “If he’s coming over here in person, it means he doesn’t have anything on us.”  You wish.
• From this angle, it looks like that thug is doing more than hacking that cybermaid, don’t you think?
• The slimebag knows that if he’s gonna take on Section 9, he’s gonna need new toys. 
• “We were too late… looks like he had visitors before us.”  And they totally trashed the place!  Man, whatever party they were having, we, like, totally missed it!
• The National Reconnaissance Office, for the record, is a Department of Defense outlet that designs, builds, and operates recon satellites for various governmental sp.ook agencies. 
• “I am the eye in the sky/Looking at you/I can read your mind/I am the maker of rules/Dealing with fools/I can cheat you blind…” “Eye in the Sky”, The Alan Parsons Project.
• It must be hell on the tech support people in the buildings right next to Section 9, constanly being held accountable for these inexplicable network crashes…
• This meeting with Imakurusu is so important, LM went formal for the occasion.
• I love this exchange between Imakurusu and LM… how LM cuts through every one of Imakurusu’s feeble excuses and finally lets the decision to come clean rest with him.  Classic.
• The monologue also provides important information on LM’s identity: he acknowledges the existence of a false LM who’s trying to profit off his mission.  You know this has got to burn LM something fierce… also, Imakurusu seems to know who this someone might be…
• Notice how the camera’s shaking, to imitate the vantage point of a shaken-up old man?
• “Excuse me, sir.  Is there something I can do for you?”  Bring me a triple martini and give it wings.
• Mrs. Togusa seems especially concerned when the doctor puts for the prospect of her husband needing cybernetic implants.  The fact that Togusa is one of the few people out there without significant levels of cyberization suggests there’s some reason he can’t or won’t level up, and that he probably won’t like these proposed upgrades…
• Weren’t you given express orders to stay in the hotel?  Did it occur to you that there might be a very good reason for that?
• In other news, they still have pay phones in 2030.  Only now it costs something like a buck and a quarter for a five-minute call.
• Is it me, or is it funny as hell to see all the androids crashing at once?  It’s like setting off all the Tickle Me Elmos in the toy store and watching them fall off the shelf while my mother looks on in shame… where was I?
• Leave it to Ishikawa to combine parallel processing and a capital venture.  Betcha this enterprise also makes things mighty comfortable for the man when the car payment comes due.
• Gayle?  What kind of name is that for a hitman?  Of course, it could be a surname… in which case, you think he’s related to Crystal?
• When you think about it, Imakurusu’s pretty pathetic.  He doesn’t even realize his supervisor isn’t the least bit sympathetic to his ethical crisis and is only concerned about damage control… which involves controlling him out of existence.
• It was Niimi that Imakurusu called, right?  Why exactly is Washington keeping tabs on him?
• Introducing the MSDF 303--Most impressive.  Blow it up about twenty times and it could easily win an audition for the mobile suit design for the next Gundam series.  And you thought army surplus was only good for canteens and Swiss army knives.  But Gayle comments the MSDF loaned him this beauty… did they know what he was going to use it for?  How high up does this sh-t go?
• Batou’s probably wishing he still had his pet Tachikoma about now…
• Thermoptic camo.  I thought only outfits like Section 9 had this kind of tech.  We are obviously not dealing with small-timers here.
• Great, just great.  Smash in through the window and give the old geezer you’re supposed to be protecting a massive coronary.
• “Can you make it out in the chopper?”  Not carrying this alter kocker in tow.  I don’t want him sh-tting himself all over my uniform.
• These women drivers, I swear!
• Technical question: why does the thugs’ thermocamo go down when they do?  Is it controlled by their cyberbrains?
• Where’d everybody go?  You’d think after a car crashes through a hotel lobby and a Spandex-clad woman dashes out and up the stairs, people would at least stand around and gawk.
• “Don’t be stupid!  That’s what you have me for!” Hey, he said it; I didn’t.
• Who’s the turtle and why is he rushing so desperately to keep up with Paz and Saito?
• Does this scene look familiar to anyone?  At all?  Think!
• Bad news, the rifle doesn’t take him down.  Good news, it provides a convenient distraction.
• “HEY, SAITO!  FORK OVER THAT WEAPON NOW!!"Gayle’s thoughts: Oh, crap.
• BLAM!  CLICK-CLICK!  BLAM!  CLICK-CLICK!  BLAM!  CLICK-CLICK! BLAM!  CLICK-CLICK!  BLAM!  CLICK-CLICK!  BLAM!  CLICK-CLICK!  Excessive force can be a thing of beauty.
• Why is Imakurusu, of all times and places, wandering off to talk to the turtle?  It begs the question as to whether he’s doing it of his own free will…
• Ack!  No one counted on Niimi employing a mobile sniper to finish the job!
• Aoi-chan!  Oh, look how you’ve grown!  Wait a minute, where’d you go?
• One of those moments where only one word really suffices: “AAAAARRRGH!”

[Dark_Cloud_Overhead]

Awesome review, as always.  Well worth the wait.

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Vladimir wrote:

I love this exchange between Imakurusu and LM… how LM cuts through every one of Imakurusu’s feeble excuses and finally lets the decision to come clean rest with him.  Classic.

The monologue also provides important information on LM’s identity: he acknowledges the existence of a false LM who’s trying to profit off his mission.  You know this has got to burn LM something fierce… also, Imakurusu seems to know who this someone might be…

It was Niimi that Imakurusu called, right?  Why exactly is Washington keeping tabs on him?

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I actually thought at first that the number that Ishikawa was pointing out was for the American ruling party and that it was about the landmate that Gayle wanted because of how they went from that scene to where they showed Gayle getting into it while they were on route to where Imarkurusu was. Pretty stupid, I know.

Now though I think that maybe it goes along with what you mentioned there about Imakurusu knowing someone who might be pulling the strings of the fake LM's operations, or perhaps even be the fake LM himself.

Someone asked about who Imakurusu was calling and pointed out how the call wasn't to Niimi directly.  Ishikawa said the number wasn't even supposed to exist and that he was guessing it was to somebody in the ruling party therefore.  I think it makes sense now, given how Niimi didn't seem to believe him, that Imakurusu might try and go over his head in order to plead his case.  It just figures that whoever is doing all the manipulation would be somebody high up in the government too, so that person he was calling could very well be the mastermind behind all the coruption and coverup of the Murai vaccine then.

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Vladimir wrote:

Is it me, or is it funny as hell to see all the androids crashing at once?  It’s like setting off all the Tickle Me Elmos in the toy store and watching them fall off the shelf while my mother looks on in shame… where was I?

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Bad Vlad!  You sure it wasn't the Chibi who did that?  <.<  >.>  0__0

[AL429]

To Dark_Cloud_Overhead:

I have also read your reply to my post on the Episode 21 Thread as well and I'll just drop a "actual teaser" here about what you've commented so far about that phone number and who actually did Imakurusu called.  Actually, you are almost dead on about your comments here and in the episode thread about that, but as to who exactly the "big players" are and why in this little conspiracy is still unknown.  Pretty much the answers to those questions and a whole lot of others are forth coming in episode 23 in the series, so pay especially close attention to that particular episode.  Also, not to mention one of the series' last two plot twists is about to begin after that episode as well.  I better stop here to prevent any major spoilers from coming out at this point, but I will definitely get in to those discussions once the airing and these here boards gets to that point in a few weeks from now.

Despite the few remaining episodes left, the series is far from over yet at this point, and yes, I'm a very bad tease regarding those things.

BTW Vladimir,

No pressure or anything and the ultimate decision is really up to you, but I would love it if you would do up your next review on Paranoia Agent.  I'm sure that "Chibi Vlad" would like Paranoia Agent, since the series really fit his crazy antics and such.  Anyhow, It'll be a pleasure to see you and "CV" be a part of the "unofficial Paranoia Agent Discussion Committee" on these here boards, if you both decide to put your "spin" on it that is.

And as always, love your episode reviews in this thread so far on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and can't wait on how you both are going to do tonight's episode.

[scoobdog]

Yes, once again, a brilliant review (although I just happened to read it the day after seeing Gundam Seed's 49th...)

The rebooting androids was comical in that the show designers picked the worst possible way for them to crash. I mean, spitting up your own brain....? No big deal, you just pull the string and back in it goes. But this show is such a fast paced event that it hardly matters.

So, we finally get to see LM. I was somewhat shocked to realize just how much info we get on this guy in this episode without us really knowing it. A good deal of it comes in the course of his conversation with the doctor, so our attention is not on LM so much as it is on the doctor and his reactions. I really liked the fact that we get a lot on LM without it feeling like the show is dropping a bomb on us (the sunflower society icon really sets up LM's appearance nicely). Now we have a much better idea of what LM's true motivation is.

[AhBeeDoi]

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Vladimir wrote:


It was Niimi that Imakurusu called, right? Why exactly is Washington keeping tabs on him?

Because Aramaki called in a favor with the CIA and got them to tap all communications traffic in Japan. Section 9 wa looking for the whereabouts of Imakurusu.

[Vladimir]

(behind the tulle screen of a canopy bed, our hero sleeps peacefully… until something small furtively scales the drapers, scrambles across the satin sheets, and…)

CV: (POKE) (POKE POKE POKE) (POKE POINK POKE)

V: Gzzz… not so hard, kitten… (opens eyes only to stare the chibi in the face) KYAAAAAGH!!!

CV: I can’t thweep.

V: (peers out of the curtains to check the clock) Wh… it’s three o’clock in the f-cking morning!

CV: And I can’t thweep.

V: (really not up to dealing with this... really not up at all) Well, whose f-cking fault is it for drinking that double f-cking espresso before bedtime?

CV: I thought it wath decaf.

V: Okay.  Did you drink a glass of warm milk?

CV: What are you talking about?  I hate milk!  You should know that becauthe you hate it too!

V: Did you try counting sheep?

CV: I did, and it worked for a wittle while, but then I dweamed they all contwacted that thpongiform bwain dithease and they all died and I thtarted cwying and I woke up.

V: >_< Did you eat something?

CV: Everything in the fwidge.  And the bowl of fwuit on the kitchen counter.

V: That was wax.

CV: Oh.

V: (sigh) Looks like there’s only one thing left… guess I gotta get up and read you a story.

(several minutes later… V is sitting next to the bottom drawer of the bureau that serves as the chibi’s bed)

V: (reading from what appears to be a computer print-out) “Vash writhed in pleasure as Wolfwood’s strong arms wrapped around him.  He shuddered as their bare chests touched and rubbed, their fevered heartbeats pounding against each other…”

CV: (finally!) ZZZZZZZ…

V: Good… asleep at last.  (tiptoes off)

CV: (perks up) Hey!  You can’t quit before you get to the money shot!

V: AAAAAAAUUUUGH!

[Vladimir]

• We return to Niimi and his b-tchy secretary, who realize their number’s up…
• As Section 9 busts go, this went off pretty well… maybe too well…
• In Gayle’s profession, you need to have a back-up plan in the inevitable event you are double-crossed.  Notice the dub botches his name.
• This episode is called “Scandal”, but the reason why is more complex than you’d think.
• Exactly what kind of assistance can Kanzaki render?  He has no office and his name is mud.
• “Now that I’ve fallen from power, I have a lot of free time on my hands.” Lately I’ve taken up macramé.
• Just because they’re alone doesn’t mean no one’s listening…
• What was that Secretary-General’s name, Yoshikawa?  Any relation to Noboru?  Incidentally, he has pull in the Navy… and wasn’t that armor suit Gayle operating a loaner from the Marines?
• Glad to see Togusa’s feeling better… and can still crack a joke.
• So that’s where she is.  Even the Major needs some down-time after a throwdown like that.
• Remember Togusa’s eyes got hacked during that clusterf-ck at the vocational rehab center.
• Why give the vaccination records to Togusa?  Surely they don’t expect him to work while he’s laid up in the hospital?  But then again, Togusa would probably rather investigate the records instead of spinning his wheels…
• This is no ordinary pick-up job, so Paz opts to cloak himself to avoid prying eyes… wouldn’t you know he finally gets some decent lines and he’s speaking them while invisible.
• The desk clerk’s comments that some of those thugs may have been informants or addicts pressured into participating in the HLW’s dirty schemes…
• A carjacker?  No, worse.  I would like to interview you about your ne’er-do-well, brother, that I would…
• Aramaki busts the nation’s head narc and suddenly his brother gets collared for possession?  A cabbage could figure this one out. 
• “Would you like to comment on this, sir?” Yes.  Listen closely, I’m not going to repeat myself.  SKREEEEEEEE!
• I suppose Courtin’s especially qualified to witness the transfer, as she’s a nurse and can tell if everything’s going right.  That, and she’s already seen Motoko naked.
• Of course she’s not street-legal.  Otherwise everyone and his mother-in-law would be pulling Jackie Chan moves.
• “It makes me hot to imagine what you could do with all this…” Meanwhile, 200,000 fanboys nod in agreement…
• Cheesecake of the day, people.  Get it while it’s fresh.
• And if that wasn’t enough, here comes Dr. Goodbody.  Maybe it’s the gray lipstick that’s setting off Motoko’s spidey sense.
• “So then this isn’t your first time, right?  There’s no need to worry; I promise I won’t hurt you.” Motoko’s thoughts: I bet you tell your johns down at soapland the same thing.
• So now she’s completely vulnerable and incommunicado with a doctor she doesn’t trust.  Fantastic.
• “All right, I’m just going to take a little look under the hood, if you know what I mean… Good, you’ve got a fine body…” What’s that noise… it sounds like a thousand zippers opened, all at once, and were then silenced…
• How does Ishikawa know about that reporter in the garage?  Is he a regular?
• Is this an actual section of Tokyo I’ve never heard about?  Ordinarily I’d refer back to DAM, but they don’t cover eps after 21.  Does anyone else know a site with good ep summaries?
• Where exactly did that can come from?
• For the price of a cup of coffee, you can give these children shelter, clean water, a chance to go to school…
• Considering the resemblance between them and the similarity of their names (Daisuke, Yosuke), it’s not unreasonable to assume they’re twins.
• Another RK cameo, this time from Lex Lang.                  
• It’s not French Blend or anything, but it’ll keep you warm.
• Apparently keeping order and looking out for everyone’s general welfare run in the family.
• How very fortunate that he managed to find the one person in the fuzz who can do something with the disc.  Yes, how very fortunate.
• At least Paz is having a good time…
• Aramaki’s thoughts: Wha?  Why do I always get the crazies, no matter where I go? Gzzzzz!
• That was close.  For a moment I thought the bum shivved him.  Unfortunately, that dose of drugs isn’t the only fix Aramaki’s getting right now…
• I finally made the connection between Niiimi’s secretary and that sniper who took down Imakurusu.  I wonder how that job description reads: “Must type 60 words a minute, operate most standard OSs, and be experienced in several modes of assassination.  Ability to make a decent latte a plus.”
• “Or could it be that you don’t like me?  No offense, but that’s it exactly.”  Maybe that’s not the wisest thing to say to someone who’s about to jab needles into your brain.
• Bet Motoko would like to turn off her speech function about now… nothing more aggravating than a perky assassin.
• Hm, wonder if Courtin’s coffee had anything in it beyond cream and sugar?
• Turtle Aoi returns…
• How exactly did Batou fish Aramaki out of the dumpster without the cops seeing him?
• I wonder what gave the LM away first, the outfit or the eye-hack?
• I can’t exactly reproduce the quote, but it’s as if Holden Caulfield stepped right off the page, especially the comment about “phonies”.
• "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause. The mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”  Wilhelm Steckel, Austrian psychoanalyst, 1868-1939.  Contemporary of Freud, pioneered the application of Freud's conceptions of dreams, fantasies of the human mind, and the unconscious to such fields as literature and anthropology.  Coined the term “psychosexual infantilism” and was the first one to publish a book on the subject.
• “Seems you fall into the same category…” An apt observation, no matter how much the Major wants to deny it.  In the end, Section 9 and LM have the same mission… and they both cause their fair share of chaos in the process…
• And… hack!
• Not so fast, Mengele!  You think I’m that easy to get rid of?  KWAK!!
• Notice Courtin drops her coffee right in Sana’s face.  The final insult.
• “What’s up?”  What’s up?  Somebody gets knocked through a plate-glass window right in front of you and that’s your response?
• Uh, Mr. Niimi, can I get you a tissue?  Oh, gross.
• Heh.  In a hospital bed himself and the first thing he does is ask how she is.
• “The bad news first.”  That’s the way I always take it.
• Cyber-brain suicide.  Less messy than seppuku and just as effective.
• Isn’t she telling him what he already knew?
• Aramaki grieves for being too involved with his work to deal with his family, but then, maybe that’s why he got so involved… couldn’t save the people he loved, so he tried to sublimate those needs in public service… everybody's got an angle... 

[R.I.P.Novas]

Oh, this is just a minor detail I keep wondering about, in this current episode, have they ever mentioned the sex of LM?  I saw how LM looks like after the death of Imakurusu, but it still seems ambiguous….My first impression is that LM is actually LW.

[Curious Cat]

Message Edited by Novas on 04-10-2005 10:42 PM

[AhBeeDoi]

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Novas wrote:

Oh, this is just a minor detail I keep wondering about, in this current episode, have they ever mentioned the sex of LM? I saw how LM looks like after the death of Imakurusu, but it still seems ambiguous….My first impression is that LM is actually LW.

[Curious Cat]

Message Edited by Novas on 04-10-2005 10:42 PM

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Laughing Man is definitely a man.

[eternalGundam]

I love all of the work, both reviews and skits [the skits are killing me with laughter, especially CV's actions and accent]. Keep up the good work. I'll be back.

[scoobdog]

Once again, well done.

LM is most certainly a man. Stare at my avatar long enough, and there's no doubt... (though that pasty skin has me thinking.

It seems to me that the Major is placing the lines of demarcation for LMs benefit and not her own, though the Steckel quote certainly seems to indicate that she feels that she and him are fundamentally different. The truth is, that quote does not describe two different personalities as much as it describes a specific process of development. The Major seems to recognize that the difference between the two is not their tactics, but to the degree their tactics are implemented: while the Major and her hit squad do just enough "terrorism" to place their targets in a situation where they have no choice but to acquiesce, LM has to terrorize on such a broad scale (and, thus, involve too many innocent people) to get any effect that he is an identifyable target. To an extent, I'm sure she does consider her own efforts to be justified becasuse she only does what she rationalizes as necessary, but I don't think that even she can deny that they are speaking the same language. Of course, she might have been a be a bit more generous if LM had shown his face to her.

Didn't I see Dr. Goodbody walking Lankershim? Even the "clean" actresses have to have a night job.

[ben0119]

I'd just like to say that I am still very appreciative of all the work you are doing, even if I don't get a chance to read it as much as I'd like.  But we've gotten our old computer fixed and cleaned up by one of my old H.S. buddies.  He runs his own computer Techie place now.

So yeah, others were thinking what I was,  they finally showed Laughing Man.  The name I figured the media gave him.  Like most cases in real life.  The thing I like about this show so much is how scarily realistic it is.  Things for us could be very much like this in a few years.  The technology isn't totally unbelievable.  And the crimes seem pretty natural too.  Given the setting.  It seems a lot more probable than Cowboy Bebop, for example.

And yeah, I was confused of if he was a girl or not at first too.  But after a while I realized he was a guy.  We're still wondering when Vlad will do the same.  I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.  Keep in mind, though that my friends and I jest each other all the time, so try not to take offense.  And I'll try not to laugh.  But really, you should think about being an entertainer.  And by that, I mean comedian.

[Vladimir]

Really.  (reapplying mascara)  Where do you get off?

Anyway, I was always under the impression that Aoi is only a vehicle for the LM.  Recall that Aoi himself is an autistic paraplegic--he's a perfect choice for LM's physical body since he can't move on his own or make enough sense of his surroundings to resist.  It's all part of Chuckles's elaborate ruse.

[scoobdog]

Wow, hadn't thought of that possibility...

[R.I.P.Novas]

Boy, I can't wait for your review for April 16th's episode to clear up the fog of deception.

So was LM actually presented in the beginning, or was the whole thing just a clever ruse to extract vital information?

[Amused]

[Vladimir]

(overheard at the “Gundam SEED” wrap party)

ATHRUN ZALA: (holding CV and looking him over closely) So this thing is real?  It’s not an automaton?  It looks pretty realistic, but I know how easy it is to make these things look life-like…

CV: >_<  How do you know you’re not real?  That you’re not an artificial being progwammed with the memowies and perthonawity of a dink?

V: Maybe you should set him down.  So, Cagalli… I notice certain people are conspicuously absent… what gives?

AZ: Well, I did see Mu earlier.  Where’d he go?

CAGALLI YULA ATTHA: Er… he’s in the broom closet. (pointing)  With Murrue… “making the impossible possible”.  (rumbling and rattling of the closet door) At least those are the words he used.

V: Mm… yes.  Also I’m not seeing Rau of Flay.

AZ: Ah.  They’re with Azrael in a… shall we say… secure location.

(elsewhere, in the men’s john…)

MURATA AZRAEL: (handcuffed to a urinal) I thought you said you snuck the key off the girl, you half-masked Coordinator freak!

RAU LE CREUSET:  (cuffed to the one right next to him) I did!  But I dropped it when you shoved me earlier!  See?  (pointing with his foot)  It’s right there on the floor!

MA: Dammit!  Just out of reach!  You’re supposed to be superior beings, why couldn’t you use your alleged skills to catch it before it dropped?

RLC: Oh, shut up, you insufferable fruit!  Let’s see you reach it then!

FLAY ALLSTER: (tied to a two-wheel handtruck and gagged with what appear to be… panties…) Translation of muffled screaming: Why don’t you both shut up and help me, you f-cking lunatics? (helpless sobbing)

AZ: That reminds me.  I forgot the gag, and I wanted to keep her quiet.

CYA: Don’t sweat it… I improvised.  I just wish we could do something about… (distant screaming… then in runs…)

KIRA YAMATO:  AAAAAAAAAGH!!! (tears streaming… runs out into hallway pursued by a knife-wielding…)

YZAK JOULE: Get back here, b-tch!  I’m going to carve up your face like a Christmas turkey and see how you like it!  RAAAAAAAAA!

CYA: Didn’t either of them notice that’s a plastic knife?

AZ: I’m wondering if either of them had some of the punch Dearka spiked earlier… although obviously not as much as you-know-who… (points, indicating a half-dressed NATARLE BADGIRUEL, lounging on a grand piano as NICOL AMALFI plays)

NB: (singing violently off-key) "Et dès que je t'aperçois… alors je sens dans moi... mon coeur qui bat…”  (falls off the edge and onto the floor)

TOLLE KOENIG: Uh… how long are you going to keep playing?  You’ve been at it for three hours.

NA: As long as she keeps filling the tip jar.  (blush) I just hope she doesn’t decide to try “Lady Marmalade” again…

DEARKA ELSMANN: (sloshed and dragging a struggling MIRIALLIA HAW up to the piano) Hey, paisan!  Wonder if you could get Lieutenant Blotto to shut up a minute?  I wanna dedicate a song to my honey!

MH: Dear God, no.

TK: Your honey?!?

DE: Yeah, my honey!  Got somethin’ to say ‘bout it? (the two boys get into a shoving match as MH slinks out, shame-faced, and NATARLE is dragged off by a dutiful KUZZEY BUZKIRK)

KB: No one else is gonna say it, so I guess I should… we’d like to thank you for your support, in spite of the second-rate dub and third-rate editing… and maybe we’ll all see each other again if and when “SEED Destiny” gets picked up.  Until then… (awkward salute)  Geez, what’s this broad been eating?  And that better be just drool that’s dripping on my… aw, man…

[Vladimir]

• It’s too early yet to tell who, if anyone, is the bad guy… oh, wait… LM-chan.  But nothing’s changed.
• This ep is called “Equinox”.  Any takers as to why?
• Niimi’s a vegetable and the narc squad goons have stopped talking.  Look closely and you can actually see Batou simmering like hot asphalt.
• Correction: the big bad’s name is Yokoshima.  Daido, the former Superintendent General who’s been linked to Serrano, was a former subordinate, and the late Iwakurusu was an Army buddy.  In other words, a slimy back-slapper with his dirty fingers in everyone’s pie.
• “I can’t be the only won around here lying down on the job.” But isn’t Togusa-chan still laid up in the hospital?
• Ernest Serrano… the last link to the Murai vaccine caper who isn’t dead or near dead.  It’s the only logical choice.
• How exactly would one arrest the Laughing Man?  He can hide in plain sight, disappear right in front of you, and take over the cyberbrain of anyone he pleases?  May as well try to lasso a cloud of steam.
• But maybe Aramaki isn’t thinking that clearly, he’s acting unusually fierce.  Maybe it’s recent events or his weakened state, but the Major’s right—maybe he should just take a couple of days to rest up…
• And here we have our person of interest… an old man, alone, no one wanting to get too involved with him, no one telling him anything… right now, he could use a visit from an old acquaintance…
• Yer gonna have to pardon the way the place looks; the wife got everything in the divorce.  Seriously, Serrano’s house is just like him… an outer shell of opulence, but empty inside.
• Doesn’t this strike you as a rather unappealing place for a jogging path?
• The chauffeur’s thoughts: The old goat’s finally lost it; he’s talking to himself… why do I feel the strange urge to take left at this intersection and shake the security detail?
• My offhand comment about the divorce is actually relevant: what did happen to his family, anyway?
• “Hey, driver--where're we going?/ I swear my nerves are showing/ Set my hopes up way too high/ Living's in the way we die/ Comes the morning and the headlights fade in rain/Of a hundred thousand people I'm the one they frame”  A-ha, “The Living Daylights”
• Elsewhere, a considerably more frantic car ride comes to a dramatic end.
• The security guard’s watch says it’s 6:55… but all the monitors said was coming up on nine when Serrano left the house…
• Ease up, Batou… it’s not their fault they got eye-hacked… although you’d think after the recent problems with the interceptors, there would have a been a recall or at the very least some replacements…
• Outwardly, Aramaki doesn’t appear that upset, but we know he’s fuming…
• “Star Child”.  Not to be confused with either Starbucks or the record company by that name.
• The scene with the crow and the drunk is not insignificant.  The symbolism should be obvious.
• “I’ll confess that in those days I wanted so bad to give all those phonies in the world a solid swift kick in the a$$.”  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
• Perhaps that’s why Serrano, of all people, was targeted by LM—not only was he in one of the best positions to act, there was a better chance of reaching him that say, Niimi or Daido.
• "Comes the morning and the headlights fade away/Hundred thousand changes, everything's the same."  A-ha again.  Last time, I promise.
• We flashback to six years ago, when LM was younger, but apparently still using the Aoi persona even then?  And does anyone else think the younger Serrano resembles Junichiro Koizumi?
• Apparently LM tried to blackmail Serrano at first, but was forced to use more aggressive tactics.
• Aoi-chan!  Language!
• You can dodge all you want, Serrano, but it’s pointless.  The Socratic method… it has broken far greater men than you.
• “Pride and sentiment are two different things, aren’t they?”  Quote of the day.
• When the Murai vaccine was stonewalled and the MHLW greenlit the use of nanotech to combat CS, there were several micromachine corps out there, but Serrano was the one that got the government contract.  But we’re still not clear on the precise connection between Serrano Genomics and Iwakurusu, who appears to have been the one responsible for the decision but whom we know was being influenced by Niimi and Yokoshima.  There’s the missing link.
• Notice that LM’s getting so pi55ed he’s actually talking out loud, possibly giving himself away.
• Poor gullible LM.  You never considered that the man you’re holding hostage would say anything to get his freedom.
• Togusa’s not the only one with a taste for old handguns… the Smith and Wesson Chief’s Special was introduced in 1950.  From the looks of it, he’s using the Stainless Steel Model 60, the first stainless steel revolver on the market, first produced in ’65.  (Scroll down to paragraphs 11-13 of the link.)
• What’s the matter with Serrano?  Shaking off the effects of the hack job, or heatstroke?
• Pyang!  But how’d he do that?  Did he do that?
• Obviously, someone within the police force created the explanation of the ransom theory and offered it to Serrano as an alternate theory for them to bite on… but who though?
• Micromachine killer virus? This is the first we’re hearing about this, right? Sounds scary.
• Note this one shot of LM.  Pay close attention to the eyes…
• What goes around comes around: Serrano started leaning on the other companies that were in on the bail-out, only to get wrapped up in a protection racket themselves…
• Apparently the false LM used the calling cards of the real one—the icon and the Salinger references—to back up their story.  The very people he sought to expose used his ruse and his persona to do exactly what he tried to stop them from doing.
• Somehow, I have a feeling Serrano means it this time…
• Freeze, dirtbags!  Don’t play cute—we know what’s really in the non-dairy creamer!
• “No sign of subject A.”  Aramaki’s thoughts: @%*!!
• Just when we thought we were going to see Batou work off some steam with a glorious smackdown, surprise!  Behold the Laughing Woman!
• Not only did this caper help the Major confirm Yokoshima’s involvement, it also secured Serrano’s cooperation with the authorities—no doubt he would have been less likely to come clean about his involvement in the Murai mess if they had just arrested him outright.  Unauthorized and questionable from a legal standpoint, but brilliant nonetheless…

[AhBeeDoi]

My brilliant disguise!

[scoobdog]

---

Vladimir wrote:

(overheard at the “Gundam SEED” wrap party)

ATHRUN ZALA: (holding CV and looking him over closely) So this thing is real?  It’s not an automaton?  It looks pretty realistic, but I know how easy it is to make these things look life-like…

CV: >_<  How do you know you’re not real?  That you’re not an artificial being progwammed with the memowies and perthonawity of a dink?

V: Maybe you should set him down.  So, Cagalli… I notice certain people are conspicuously absent… what gives?

AZ: Well, I did see Mu earlier.  Where’d he go?

CAGALLI YULA ATTHA: Er… he’s in the broom closet. (pointing)  With Murrue… “making the impossible possible”.  (rumbling and rattling of the closet door) At least those are the words he used.

V: Mm… yes.  Also I’m not seeing Rau of Flay.

AZ: Ah.  They’re with Azrael in a… shall we say… secure location.

(elsewhere, in the men’s john…)

MURATA AZRAEL: (handcuffed to a urinal) I thought you said you snuck the key off the girl, you half-masked Coordinator freak!

RAU LE CREUSET:  (cuffed to the one right next to him) I did!  But I dropped it when you shoved me earlier!  See?  (pointing with his foot)  It’s right there on the floor!

MA: Dammit!  Just out of reach!  You’re supposed to be superior beings, why couldn’t you use your alleged skills to catch it before it dropped?

RLC: Oh, shut up, you insufferable fruit!  Let’s see you reach it then!

FLAY ALLSTER: (tied to a two-wheel handtruck and gagged with what appear to be… panties…) Translation of muffled screaming: Why don’t you both shut up and help me, you f-cking lunatics? (helpless sobbing)

AZ: That reminds me.  I forgot the gag, and I wanted to keep her quiet.

CYA: Don’t sweat it… I improvised.  I just wish we could do something about… (distant screaming… then in runs…)

KIRA YAMATO:  AAAAAAAAAGH!!! (tears streaming… runs out into hallway pursued by a knife-wielding…)

YZAK JOULE: Get back here, b-tch!  I’m going to carve up your face like a Christmas turkey and see how you like it!  RAAAAAAAAA!

CYA: Didn’t either of them notice that’s a plastic knife?

AZ: I’m wondering if either of them had some of the punch Dearka spiked earlier… although obviously not as much as you-know-who… (points, indicating a half-dressed NATARLE BADGIRUEL, lounging on a grand piano as NICOL AMALFI plays)

NB: (singing violently off-key) "Et dès que je t'aperçois… alors je sens dans moi... mon coeur qui bat…”  (falls off the edge and onto the floor)

TOLLE KOENIG: Uh… how long are you going to keep playing?  You’ve been at it for three hours.

NA: As long as she keeps filling the tip jar.  (blush) I just hope she doesn’t decide to try “Lady Marmalade” again…

DEARKA ELSMANN: (sloshed and dragging a struggling MIRIALLIA HAW up to the piano) Hey, paisan!  Wonder if you could get Lieutenant Blotto to shut up a minute?  I wanna dedicate a song to my honey!

MH: Dear God, no.

TK: Your honey?!?

DE: Yeah, my honey!  Got somethin’ to say ‘bout it? (the two boys get into a shoving match as MH slinks out, shame-faced, and NATARLE is dragged off by a dutiful KUZZEY BUZKIRK)

KB: No one else is gonna say it, so I guess I should… we’d like to thank you for your support, in spite of the second-rate dub and third-rate editing… and maybe we’ll all see each other again if and when “SEED Destiny” gets picked up.  Until then… (awkward salute)  Geez, what’s this broad been eating?  And that better be just drool that’s dripping on my… aw, man…

---

:alutes Vladmir:: Of course CN will have Destiny. And, it will be on [as], and it will be completely unedited, and...

Well, I still have the faith.

[scoobdog]

You have to love Section 9's thoroughness. The Major even erases her shadow on that useless surveillance at Serrano's compound; no mean feat considering how difficult shadows are to trace.

Now this "fake LM" concept is very intriguing. What better way to get at that annoying gnat of hacker than impersonate him and blame him for all the crimes you commit. Now, all of the sudden, even the hacker's closest supporters can not definitively identify him without him revealing his actual personage. Can't lose either way: either he hides in a hole and they go merrily on their way doing what they want in his name, or he exposes himself an gets visited by a lunatic in a half-assed mecha...

Nice.